The Picture Poster

Artist Semaan Khawam, who calls himself “Birdman”, spoke with me at  Appetite’s Astley Walk arts space in Newcastle-under-Lyme, where he is artist-in-residence during Allison Lochhead’s Art for Peace exhibition.

Born in Syria and raised in Beirut after his family fled conflict in the 1980s, Semaan reflects on displacement, identity and the freedom he finds through art. Working with discarded materials, he transforms waste into sculptures that explore migration, borders and the human desire to be free.

Birds appear throughout his work, symbols of movement, return, and a life without borders.

During the conversation, Semaan also describes his latest sculpture, The Flying Instrument of the Mind, created from wire, plaster and salvaged materials while working in the gallery space.

A thoughtful discussion about art, refuge, and the power of creativity to turn the world’s “garbage” into something peaceful.

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We chatted with FRONTLINEdance Ltd a couple of weeks ago about their work across North Staffordshire. They now have news of a special project to mark the Queen’s Jubilee, and they’re looking for dancers of all ages and abilities to take part.

Rachael Lines, creative director, said: “2022 marks 70 years since Her Majesty the Queen ascended the throne, and FRONTLINEdance has been awarded some funding to host a creative and cultural event to celebrate.

“We are creating an event called 'With Soundness of Heart', which is an inter-generational inclusive performance project, and this weekend is when it all starts.”

Rachel shares all the details.

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In this episode, I speaks with curator Siobhan McAleer “Shiv” about The Depository of the Dull, an unusual museum that celebrates the overlooked objects of everyday life. Created during the COVID-19 lockdowns, the project invited people to reflect on the ordinary things around them, items that might appear dull at first glance but carry deeply personal stories.

Shiv explains how the project began as a creative response to the isolation of lockdown, encouraging people to look again at their surroundings and rediscover meaning in the mundane.

Our conversation explores why ordinary objects matter, how storytelling transforms the value of everyday things, and what these small artefacts reveal about our lives.

Shiv also reflects on the curatorial challenge of presenting something intentionally “dull”, and why the humour of the title hides a deeper reflection on attachment, loss and memory.

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In this podcast, the creative team behind Hidden Winter audio adventure, tell me about the joys and difficulties of adapting their theatre and storytelling skills to reach audiences during the pandemic’s lockdowns and restrictions.

My guests are:

Ruby Thompson, Artistic Director of The Herd.

Rosie MacPherson, Artistic Director of Stand and Be Counted,

and Firas Chihi, narrator and translator of Hidden Winter.

“We can't stop engaging with our participants. We can't stop the work that we do. We are a point of support. So to be able to make work with participants, that they can see is definitely going to happen and have a life, has been really important and crucial in keeping things going.” Rosie MacPherson, Stand and Be Counted theatre company, Bradford.

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This week I visited a useful little project that might just have big impacts on our future. One that can help us to reduce the stresses we’re putting on the planet, as well as reducing the stresses we put on our own pockets.

It’s called the Hull Library of Stuff, and its Director is Alan Dalgairns.

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A conversation between an uncle and his nephew around a red ribbon turns into a candid discussion about what it means to be HIV positive and how attitudes and science have changed in the last thirty years. 

CAST AND CREW 

Uncle Collin: Andy Train

Matt: Jerome Denton 

Written by Josh Whittingham

Produced by Jerome Whittingham 

Music: “Overdrive” by Corbyn Kites Zapslat.com

Additional sounds: Youtube Audio Library

Produced for Trade Sexual Health, Leicester, for World AIDS Day 2020 

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I’ve been to a couple of meetings recently, scrutinising Hull’s ‘net zero carbon’ ambitions. At each of the meetings there’s been a chap who’s challenged us to think about how we should put nature back into everything we do.

That man is Andrew Gibson. He works for Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, he’s one of their conservation officers.

I wanted to know more about what Andrew means by this phrase ‘put nature back into everything we do’. So I took him up on his offer of a drive around the city to look at some examples of what he means.

We met at Andrew’s office in the Trust’s wildlife garden in the corner of Pearson Park. It was a miserably wet day in late November, so you’ll hear the rain splashing on the mic at times.

I began by asking Andrew what sort of environments we’d be looking at…

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I’ve been chatting to people, exploring what can be done to reinvigorate retail in Hull city centre

In this podcast we’ll be hearing from shopkeepers - all confidently trying out new ventures, we’ll be dipping into history for ideas, we’ll be tackling tax and the business rates conundrum, and you’ll hear one of our local MPs talking very passionately about foliage.

There are solutions to the decline of our High Streets.

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Project Blyth, run by the Greenpower Education Trust, offers young people the thrills and spills of the racetrack, but only after they’ve successfully built their own single-seater IET Formula 24 kit cars.

I've been been following the progress of Francis Askew Primary School’s car, competing in the IET Formula Goblin class for 9-11 year olds.

With thanks to Connected Hull.

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Children at Dorchester Primary School in Hull tell me all about The Chewy Project, led by innovative design agency Creative Briefs.

We've all had it stuck to our shoe at some point, but these children have been exploring what can be done with chewing gum before it litters the streets.

An ace little project.

Find out more about Creative Briefs here: https://www.creativebriefs.co.uk/

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